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An Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson appeared to accuse a British minister of "blood libel" for suggesting that Israel has targeted Palestinian aid workers in Gaza.

Hamish Falconer, a Labour MP and Britain's minister for the Middle East and North Africa, posted on social media platform X on Saturday: "Aid workers need protection and must never be targeted."

He added: "Following Israel’s admission of responsibility for recent strikes on UN premises in Gaza, it must investigate all attacks that have killed aid workers, hold those responsible to account, and ensure this never happens again."

Hours later, Oren Marmorstein, a spokesperson for Israel's foreign ministry, shared the British minister's post and said: "Israel never targets aid workers. Israel targets terrorists only, and any other suggestion is pure blood libel and must be retracted."

He advised Falconer "to examine the investigations and accountability measures in all cases where the UK was responsible for the death of civilians during armed conflicts. We hope that the level of accountability would match that of Israel".

Read more: Israeli official accuses UK minister of 'blood libel' over Gaza aid worker killings

At least 68 people were killed and 47 others injured after a US air strike struck a detention centre in Yemen's northern Saada province, Yemeni media outlet Al Masirah TV,  reported on Monday.

The facility, which housed African migrants, came under attack as part of renewed US military operations against Houthi-controlled areas. Saada has long been considered a stronghold of the Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement and has previously been targeted in American strikes.

Yemen’s Ministry of the Interior said the detention centre was sheltering 115 African migrants at the time of the strike.

Medical sources told Al Jazeera Arabic that Israeli bombardment across Gaza has claimed 23 Palestinian lives since dawn today. The attacks continue as Israel intensifies its military campaign against the besieged territory.

Al Jazeera Arabic confirmed four were killed after Israeli warplanes struck a residential building in Khan Yunis overnight.

Rescue teams recovered the bodies from the rubble in southern Gaza. The attack marks the latest violence in the besieged enclave.

Global military spending hits record $2.72tn amid Middle East surges

• Global military spending surged to $2.72tn in 2024, marking the sharpest annual rise since the Cold War, according to SIPRI.

• Israel’s defence budget jumped 65 percent to $46.5bn, its largest increase since the 1967 Six-Day War. Military costs now make up 8.8 percent of GDP, the world’s second-highest share.

• Lebanon also boosted spending by 58 percent, though its total remained far lower at $635m.

• Iran cut military expenditure by 10 percent, spending $7.9bn amid economic sanctions.

• "Major rises were limited to Israel and Lebanon," said SIPRI researcher Zubaida Karim, despite expectations of broader Middle Eastern increases.

Yemen's Houthi group said a US air strike hit a migrant detention facility in Saada governorate, killing at least 30 African prisoners according to their al-Masirah news channel.

Al-Masirah broadcast graphic images showing multiple casualties at the site, which reportedly held about 100 detainees before the attack.

• Death toll rises overnight – Israeli forces have killed at least 17 Palestinians in a series of attacks since midnight, according to medical sources.

• Maghazi refugee camp shelled – Al Jazeera Arabic reports multiple injuries after Israeli artillery struck a residential building in central Gaza’s Maghazi camp.

• Khan Younis and Gaza City targeted – Fresh assaults hit southern and northern Gaza as the Israeli military expands operations.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest developments from the ongoing 18-month Israeli war on Gaza, which resumed almost six weeks ago after Israel broke the ceasefire: 

• Gaza death toll climbs – Israeli strikes kill at least 50, including civilians in al-Mawasi’s designated "safe zone".

• Lebanon demands global action – President Michel Aoun calls for pressure on Israel after strikes hit Beirut, targeting what Israel claims is a Hezbollah missile site.

• Hezbollah dismisses Israeli justification – Lawmaker Ibrahim Mousawi condemns the attack as "terrorising civilians" and denies weapons were stored there.

• Netanyahu rejects Palestinian statehood – Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu labels the idea "a folly", dismissing it as a path to peace.

• US strikes kill eight in Yemen – Air raids on Sanaa target three homes, escalating tensions amid ongoing regional conflict.

Good evening Middle East Eye readers, 

Our live coverage from Gaza will shortly be closing until tomorrow morning. Here are some of the day's key developments:

• The Gaza Government Media Office said Israeli forces had killed 18,000 children, 12,400 women, 1,400 medics, 212 journalists since 7 October 2023.

• US strikes on the Bani al-Harith district north of Sanaa targeted three homes and killed eight people, including children, Al Masirah TV reported.

• An Israeli air strike hit southern Beirut on Sunday after the Israeli military issued a forced evacuation order for the densely populated district, according to AFP.

• Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called Sunday for France and the United States, guarantors of a fragile 27 November ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, to compel Israel to halt its attacks.

• Israeli air strikes killed at least 50 in Gaza since dawn, according to Gaza medical authorities.

• A Palestinian worker collapsed while being chased by Israeli forces in the town of al-Ram, near occupied East Jerusalem.

The Gaza Government Media Office said Israel was systematically targeting civilians in Gaza as part of what it called a "war of extermination" against Palestinians, Al Jazeera reported.

The office said Israeli forces had killed 18,000 children, 12,400 women, 1,400 medics, 212 journalists and 750 security personnel who had been guarding aid convoys.

Jonathan Whittall, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territories, said “aid is being weaponised through its denial” amid Israel's nearly 2-month-long blockade in Gaza.

“There is an assault on people’s dignity in Gaza today," Whittall said in a voice message OCHA shared on social media.

“People in Gaza are telling me that they feel like it’s the deliberate dismantling of Palestinian life in plain sight. What we see around us is endless suffering under a total and complete blockade.”

“Aid is being weaponized through its denial.” – @_jwhittall to journalists in #Gaza City.

Israel has imposed a nearly 2 month long blockade.

Nothing has entered. People are desperate and hungry.

It’s not only a humanitarian crisis, “there is an assault on people’s dignity”. pic.twitter.com/htk0mdeeGx

— UN Humanitarian (@UNOCHA) April 27, 2025

US strikes on the Bani al-Harith district north of Sanaa targeted three homes and killed eight people, including children, Al Masirah TV reported.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called Sunday for France and the United States, guarantors of a fragile 27 November ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, to compel Israel to halt its attacks.

Aoun condemned an Israeli air strike on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital earlier in the evening and called on "the United States and France, as guarantors of the ceasefire agreement, to assume their responsibilities and compel Israel to halt its attacks immediately".

The number of Palestinians killed by Israel in Gaza since dawn has now risen to 50, according to Al Jazeera, citing medical sources.

An Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson appeared to accuse a British minister of "blood libel" for suggesting that Israel has targeted Palestinian aid workers in Gaza.

Hamish Falconer, a Labour MP and Britain's minister for the Middle East and North Africa, posted on social media platform X on Saturday: "Aid workers need protection and must never be targeted."

He added: "Following Israel’s admission of responsibility for recent strikes on UN premises in Gaza, it must investigate all attacks that have killed aid workers, hold those responsible to account, and ensure this never happens again."

Hours later, Oren Marmorstein, a spokesperson for Israel's foreign ministry, shared the British minister's post and said: "Israel never targets aid workers. Israel targets terrorists only, and any other suggestion is pure blood libel and must be retracted."

He advised Falconer "to examine the investigations and accountability measures in all cases where the UK was responsible for the death of civilians during armed conflicts. We hope that the level of accountability would match that of Israel".

Read more: Israeli official accuses UK minister of 'blood libel' over Gaza aid worker killings